Fresh water during beardie brumination??

[ittybitty]

Is it important for a beardie baby to have fresh water in its enclosure even while it is in brumination?? A member of my family has one, and it has been bruminating for a few weeks now, and everytime I see it, its water dish is bone dry!! and there is no food (even pellets) in the enclosure... Im used to giving my snakes fresh water every evening. And even though a couple have switched off for the colder months, I still notice them having a drink every evening when I change it. So was just wondering how important it is for a baby cbd?

Cheers
Ash...

 

[dihsmaj]

I don't think you need to, if it's brumating.
By the way, it's brumating, not bruminating.

 

[ittybitty]

Cheers for that I was just more curious because every now and then when I peek in on her enclosure she is out on her log, whilst other times she is under it.

 

[Chris1]

babies really shouldnt be in brumation,...

its probably ok for the bowl to be dry as long as theyre looking out for signs of movement, as in when he wakes up, so they can give him a drink/food then,..

ive never seen my beardies drink from bowls, they like a syringe or misting and one only drinks in the shower.

oops., we were typing at the same time, if its awake they should offer fresh salad and water,..

 

[sammy09]

babies arnt meant to brumate their first winter

chris beat me to it

 

[ittybitty]

hmmm ok, so then she shouldnt be permanently hiding in a hole in the sand under her log??

 

[dihsmaj]

So wait is there something bad with me brumating my young Bluey then?

 

[Chris1]

The reason brumation isnt recommended in their first winter is because they may not have sufficient fat stores, its also not recommended for underweight animals for teh same reason....

 

[Bluetongue1]

You can sick animals to that list.


Brumating animals should have access to fresh water at all times. Bearded will often not drink unless the water is moving. Use of an air-stone and small aquarium pump is often effective at training them to drink from a water bowl rather than licking moving droplets after misting or drinking from water placed on or in their mouth.

Do not offer food during this period. They need sufficient continuous heat to digest what they eat and if that process is significantly slowed down, the food can begin to rot before it is digested. In addition, the passage of faeces through the gastrointestinal tract is likely to be significantly slowed down. This low motility can allow the build up of intestinal flora within the waste material to the point where the toxins they release affects the health of the animal.

Brumating animals should still be provided with daytime heat but for a reduced time. It is common in nature for many reptiles to bask on warmer sunny days during winter. Even if they do not bask often, bromating animals still lose a certain amount of moisture through breathing. Each exhaled breath is 100% humid (the humidity level inside the lungs). Each inhaled breath will be whatever the prevailing humidity is that surrounds them. Breathing rate is considerably reduced during brumation but never zero (we hope!), so there is a certain level of on-going moisture loss.

I hope that explains it OK.

Blue

 

[dihsmaj]

I was thinking about supplying my Centralian Blue-tongue fresh water at all times during his brumation period but wouldn't that raise the humidity a bit too much?

 

[Bluetongue1]

How do supply it with water normally? If you normally sray or mist and they lick the droplets then continue to do so.

With less heating there will be less evaporation. Move the water bowl to the cool end of the enclosure and that will help further (if you are concerned). You can also reduce the surface are of the water bowl which will further reduce evaporation. Increasing the ventilation will help to reduce humidity is the air outside the enclosure is less humid.

A lot of people assume that arid animals require really low humidity. That is not necessarily correct at all. Many desert dwellers spend the hot part of the day secreted away in a tight crevice or deep burrow, where the humidity is able to build up around them rather than escaping. Having said that, there is a limit and some species are sensitive to it than others. Shinglebacks, for example, do not like continuous high humidity, especially if the temperatures are on the low side. As a result they are very prone to respiratory infections when kept along the eastern seabord.

25% to 40% is an appropriate humidity range of humidity for a centralian bluey is desirable.

 

[dihsmaj]

I usually offer him water every 5 - 7 days in a dish, for about half an hour.

 

[ittybitty]

Thanks Blue, much appreciated!

 

[Bluetongue1]

Ittybitty,

I am glad you found it of some help and I appreciate the response.

I usually offer him water every 5 - 7 days in a dish, for about half an hour.

You could by all means continue to offer him water in the same way you have been doing. The basic idea is that you don’t want him to get dehydrated over the brumation period. Obviously being less active he will lose less water and won’t drink as often. However, if he gets thirsty, he will have the chance to have a drink.

You might also try a small bowl of water i.e. with a small surface area, placed in the cool end a s far as possible from the heat, could be left in for a day at a time and possibly even indefinitely, depending upon the ambient humidity where you are located. So try one day in, two days out and see what effect is has on the humidity.

Blue